History has been passed for ages beyond recount by
word-of-mouth, passed in songs from parents to children down through
generations. Many of the songs of the Eldar recount events in history,
while many others were written to praise Vala or Eru. Some are written in
times of great feeling, and to describe places or times, while yet others were
merely created to sing to a flower, or a tree, or a bird fluttering down through
the skies. Eldarin music often has cadence, but it is often incomplete
cadence, and when these verses are translated from their original Sindarin forms
into Westron or English, the cadence is lost. Other songs are written in
free verse and have no set rhythmic or rhyming devices. Many of the
original verses of Quenya are thus. Many of their most beloved and some
more obscure verses are recorded here, though few of the bards' names are known.